Beasts of the Southern Wild at Cornerhouse

This highly anticipated release tells the story of a six-year old girl called Hushpuppy who lives a barebones existence with her father in the deltas of the Mississippi. With their community under constant threat from rising water he prepares his daughter for a day when he might not be there, teaching her to survive alone (a storyline not unfamiliar from Cormac McCarthy’s dystopian novel, The Road, and its filmic adaptation). This US release has collected a string of awards at, for example, Cannes and Sundance since its January premiere. Through the mystical filter of childhood perception, director Benh Zeitlin’s debut feature offers a poignant and beautiful take on political and environmental issues.

From Fri 19 Oct, Cornerhouse,  70 Oxford Street, M1 5NH. Tel: 0161 200 1500, various times & prices. www.cornerhouse.org